Swarthmoor Hall offers a variety of organised events throughout out the
year.
Our programme events offer a unique opportunity to stay at one of the sites
central to early Quaker history, and participants have access to
the historic rooms in the Hall.
It is usually possible to have an (optional) guided tour during the course
of your stay.
For more information on an event please click more information for the event
you are interested in. Events are listed in date order.
A gathering for those who want to
find out more about being a member of the Religious Society of
Friends (Quakers)
Date:
12-14 March
With:
A team from the Quaker
Life Outreach network
Description:
An informal and friendly gathering to look at the
different issues arising as someone contemplates membership.
There will be lots of time to ask questions and share thoughts and
queries, in small groups and all together in one group.
This weekend is for Friends who want to deepen their
Quaker experience by discovering what it means to ‘wait in the
Light’.
Date:
16-18 April
With:
A team of facilitators
led by Helen Meads from the Light Group network
Description:
Our faith as Quakers is based on experience, rather
than on authority or doctrine. But what
is
the experience? We shall consider first what the
experience was
at the beginning of our movement. We shall then undertake an
experiment to see if that experience is still available to us.
Finally, we shall reflect on the significance of the
Light for our lives today. This can be a searching and powerful
experience. Participants should gain a deeper understanding of the
Quaker experience, but also a surprising new insight into
themselves.
The weekend is based on the findings of Rex Ambler
who has travelled widely among Friends giving talks & workshops on
Quaker faith & practice, and Helen Meads, who has researched the
topic and facilitated many workshops for those wanting to know more
. Rex has also written books on George Fox & Quaker spirituality.
Learning the basic skills to rebuild a drystone wall
Date:
19-22 April
With:
Bill Shaw
Description:
An enjoyable but fairly strenuous event for those who
want to learn and practice the basic skills in building drystone
walls. The group will rebuild part of a wall in the gardens and
grounds of the Hall.
There are only 6 places
available on the event.
Start / end time
Starts 4pm Monday
and ends after lunch on Thursday.
How to recognise birds & attempt to
understand their songs & calls.
Date:
4-7 May
With:
Roy Adams
Description:
A wonderful opportunity to experience the dawn chorus
in and around the Hall grounds on the first full day. This will be
followed by breakfast , then off to visit Leighton Moss RSPB reserve
by train.
The second full day will be spent
visiting the two reserves on Walney Island. One is a Cumbria
Wildlife Trust reserve and the other is English nature. A minibus
will be used for this day.
Good outdoor clothing and binoculars needed to
take advantage of the two days.
Start / end time
Starts 4pm Tuesday
and ends after breakfast on Friday.
Price:
£200 Residential,
including train fares and minibus.
A day for Enquirer's to find out more about Quakers.
Date:
8 May
With:
Swarthmoor Hall staff
team
Description:
An informal and friendly day gathering for anyone
wanting to find out more about Quakerism. You will be able to meet
Quakers and hear of their spiritual journeys. There will be a time
to share your journey with the group as far as you are able. there
will be general discussion on worship, the Advices & Queries and the
Testimonies.
There will be time to discuss queries and
questions that participants have and try to find answers to
them. All in a supportive and confidential atmosphere.
Start / end time
9.30 for tea and coffee
10am first session. Ends 4pm with tea and coffee.
A mixture of working in the grounds and buildings at
the Hall and spiritual exploring in the group. A comfortable and
supportive "community" grows over the week for sharing and mutual
support. The atmosphere at the Hall lends itself so well to this
work.
Start / end time
Gathering on Monday 10
May from 4pm onwards and ending after breakfast on Friday 14 May
A weekend for those enquiring about
Quakers and Quakerism.
Date:
14-16 May
With:
A team from the Quaker
Life Outreach Network
Description:
The gathering is informal & friendly. Topics covered
include basic convictions, the form of worship, and the testimonies
that spring from them. Two or three facilitators will be present to
talk about their own experiences in their spiritual journeys and how
they became Quakers
Tour of the important sites in
George Fox's visit to the North west of England in 1652
Date:
7-10 June
With:
Guides from the Quaker
Life network & 1652 Committee
Description:
A residential
guided event for anyone who wants to learn about the
early history of Quakerism and how it relates toour faith today,based at Swarthmoor Hall in the heart of the 1652
country.
An introductory talk on Monday will give a background
to the happenings of 1652. There will be an opportunity to climb
Pendle Hill and experience a Meeting for Worship at the top. The
event will also include visits to Brigflatts,
Firbank Fell (and the Quaker Tapestry) on Wednesday
and Swarthmoor Meeting House, Sunbrick burial Ground on Thursday. A
tour of Swarthmoor Hall itself will take place during the event.
This event will allow individuals to become part of
an organised pilgrimage and worshipping group as it unfolds.
A minibus will be used to travel to the different
sites.
Start / end time
Starts 4pm Monday 7
June and ends after Lunch on Thursday 10 July
Harvey Gillman,
formerly Outreach Secretary of Britain Yearly Meeting, and Rowntree
Quaker Fellow, has written widely on spirituality and language, and
is a regular facilitator at Quaker and ecumenical weekends. He has
also been involved in a spiritual direction network.
Description:
Where do we feel at home?
Where do we feel we belong?
Home, belonging, and a sense of exile are key
experiences in the life of many people. They also furnish powerful
metaphors in the development of our spiritual growth.
This weekend will explore these themes through times of sharing our
own experiences and those of writers, painters, and musicians from
various religious traditions.
This weekend is for Friends who want to deepen their
Quaker experience by discovering what it means to ‘wait in the
Light’.
Date:
16-18 July
With:
A team of facilitators
led by Catherine Ambler from the Light Group network
Description:
Our faith as Quakers is based on experience, rather
than on authority or doctrine. But what
is
the experience? We shall consider first what the
experience was
at the beginning of our movement. We shall then undertake an
experiment to see if that experience is still available to us.
Finally, we shall reflect on the significance of the
Light for our lives today. This can be a searching and powerful
experience. Participants should gain a deeper understanding of the
Quaker experience, but also a surprising new insight into
themselves.
The weekend is based on the findings of Rex Ambler
who has travelled widely among Friends giving talks & workshops on
Quaker faith & practice, and Helen Meads, who has researched the
Experiment, and facilitated many workshops for those wanting to know
more. Rex has also written books on George Fox & Quaker
spirituality.
Tour of the important sites in
George Fox's visit to the North west of England in 1652
Date:
16-18 August
With:
Guides from the Quaker
Life network & 1652 Committee
Description:
A residential
guided event for anyone who wants to learn about the
early history of Quakerism and how it relates toour faith today,based at Swarthmoor Hall in the heart of the 1652
country.
An introductory talk on Monday will give a background
to the happenings of 1652. There will be an opportunity to climb
Pendle Hill and experience a Meeting for Worship at the top. The
event will also include visits to Brigflatts,
Firbank Fell (and the Quaker Tapestry) on Wednesday
and Swarthmoor Meeting House, Sunbrick burial Ground on Thursday. A
tour of Swarthmoor Hall itself will take place during the event.
This event will allow individuals to become part of
an organised pilgrimage and worshipping group as it unfolds.
A minibus will be used to travel to the different
sites.
Start / end time
Starts 4pm Monday 16
August and ends after Lunch on Thursday 18 August.
A retreat based on early Friends’ experience, and
printmaking.
Date:
27-30
August
With:
Andrea
Freeman & Helen Meads
Description:
A retreat focusing on the stepped process of
Experiment with Light, based on early Friends' practice. Express
and deepen your experiences creatively through printmaking within
the beauty, history and spirituality of Swarthmoor Hall, cradle of
Quakerism. Experience silence, group sharing and spiritual
friendship.
No experience of Experiment with Light or printmaking is necessary,
just be prepared to absorb the atmosphere, explore spiritually and
enjoy printmaking.
Start / end time
Starts 4 pm
Friday afternoon and ends after lunch on Monday
This weekend is for Friends who want to deepen their
Quaker experience by discovering what it means to ‘wait in the
Light’.
Date:
10-12 September
With:
A team of facilitators
led by Helen Meads from the Light Group network
Description:
Our faith as Quakers is based on experience, rather
than on authority or doctrine. But what
is
the experience? We shall consider first what the
experience was
at the beginning of our movement. We shall then undertake an
experiment to see if that experience is still available to us.
Finally, we shall reflect on the significance of the
Light for our lives today. This can be a searching and powerful
experience. Participants should gain a deeper understanding of the
Quaker experience, but also a surprising new insight into
themselves.
The weekend is based on the findings of Rex Ambler
who has travelled widely among Friends giving talks & workshops on
Quaker faith & practice, and Helen Meads, who has researched the
Experiment, and facilitated many workshops for those wanting to know
more. Rex has also written books on George Fox & Quaker
spirituality.
A chance to
try journaling as a way of reflecting on and exploring your
spiritual journey so far and the directions it might take in the
future. There will be plenty of opportunity to reflect and write in
silence, to share with others, and to experiment with creative
approaches to journaling.
Judith
Smith, a member of the Quaker Retreat Group, was formerly a lecturer
and tutor in literature in adult and higher education. Since
retirement she has become particularly interested in spiritual
reflection through writing, running a “Writing the Spirit” group in
her Local Meeting and facilitating retreats and other events.
Meg Dixon,
also a member of the Quaker Retreat Group, has a background in
teaching, then counselling, where journaling was encouraged. Since
retirement, she offers spiritual direction and leads Quiet Days and
retreats, both for Friends and ecumenically, where the value of
journaling to enable spiritual life is always a focus.
Start / end time
Starts 4pm Monday and ends after Lunch on Thursday.
This
weekend course is for experienced Friends offering service as
Becoming Friends companions.
Date:
1-3 October
With:
Ginny
Wall
and Ruth Quinn
Description:
Becoming Friends:
Living & Learning with Quakers
is an innovative learning project from Woodbrooke and Quaker Life,
which aims to nurture and support those who are new to Friends. It
will help newcomers develop an understanding of Quakerism, while
exploring their own journey, through engagement with flexible
learning materials, on-line discussion groups and support from a
network of ‘companions’ in local meetings.
This
weekend course is for experienced Friends offering service as
Becoming Friends companions: it will introduce you to the
Becoming Friends materials and help you prepare for this
interesting and rewarding role.
There
will be leaflets and information about Becoming Friends
available for you to take back to your meetings after the course. If
you are a computer user and want to take a copy of a brief
powerpoint presentation about Becoming Friends back to your
meeting, please feel free to bring a pen drive/usb memory stick with
you to save it onto.
A weekend for those enquiring about
Quakers and Quakerism.
Date:
8-10 October
With:
A team from the Quaker
Life Outreach Network
Description:
The gathering is informal & friendly. Topics covered
include basic convictions, the form of worship, and the testimonies
that spring from them. Two or three facilitators will be present to
talk about their own experiences in their spiritual journeys and how
they became Quakers
A mixture of working in the grounds and buildings at
the Hall and spiritual exploring in the group. A comfortable and
supportive "community" grows over the week for sharing and mutual
support. The atmosphere at the Hall lends itself so well to this
work.
Start / end time
Gathering on Monday
from 4pm onwards and ending after breakfast on Friday
Price:
£75 Residential
Contact details:
Jasmine Piercy for further information and
application form. 07910 434941
A day for Enquirer's to find out more about Quakers.
Date:
4 December
With:
Swarthmoor Hall staff
team
Description:
An informal and friendly day gathering for anyone
wanting to find out more about Quakerism. You will be able to meet
Quakers and hear of their spiritual journeys. There will be a time
to share your journey with the group as far as you are able. there
will be general discussion on worship, the Advices & Queries and the
Testimonies.
There will be time to discuss queries and
questions that participants have and try to find answers to
them. All in a supportive and confidential atmosphere.
Start / end time
9.30 for tea and coffee
10am first session. Ends 4pm with tea and coffee.
Please see individual events.
Swarthmoor Hall is not in a position to offer bursaries. Please contact your
local Meeting Overseers.
A £30 non-returnable deposit is required on booking, with remainder paid 4
weeks before the event.
If you have to cancel, refunds are as follows:
4 weeks before the start of the event -
full refund minus £30 non-returnable deposit.
1- 4 weeks - 50% refund of total
individual cost.
Less than 1 week - no refund can be given.
We can accommodate up to 16 people in single and twin-bedded rooms.
Swarthmoor Hall is also available for groups of people who might wish to
organise their own events - retreats, workshops - either on a self-catering
or fully - catered basis. Some events may offer non-residential places.
When not taken up with programme events, the Hall welcomes bookings for our
residential accommodation, which comprises three self-catering holiday units
of five beds, five beds, and four beds. One of these units is suitable for
wheelchair users.
We also have Bed & Breakfast for individuals or small
groups when there is space available.
If you require any further details about the Programme or letting
accommodation, please contact the staff at Swarthmoor Hall.
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